1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to devices, systems and methods for restricting use of digital content and, in particular, to devices, systems and methods for ensuring compliance of digital audio and/or digital video data recordings with copyright protection formats.
2. Description of the Related Art
The proliferation of the Internet and highly transportable storage media, such as Compact discs (CD's), Digital Versatile Discs (DVD's), and Digital Audio Tape (DAT), for example, have made the worldwide dissemination and storage of digital data common place. Such digital data, however, may embody a work or compilation of works which may be the subject of one or more copyrights. Heretofore, digital data relating to the subject of one or more copyrights oftentimes has been copied in disregard of such copyrights.
Due to the prevalence of unauthorized copying of copyrighted works onto storage media, such as CD's, for example, legislation such as the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), and the Secondary Copy Management System (SCMS), among others, have been enacted in order to avert such unauthorized copying. Even with such legislation, however, unauthorized copying of copyrighted or, otherwise, proprietary digital data still occurs, resulting in a significant loss of potential royalties which should be paid to the owners of the digital data.
Therefore, there is a need for improved devices, systems and methods which address these and other shortcomings of the prior art.